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WHILE declining global rice quotations could offer relief for Filipino consumers, the government would be hard-pressed to boost support for local farmers, according to an economist.

University of Asia and Pacific Center for Food and Agribusiness (CFA) executive director Marie Annette Galvez-Dacul said the drop in international prices of the staple grain would weigh on local rice planters.

“Declining global rice prices can lead to cheaper imports, reducing government expenditures on rice procurement. However, this also challenges local farmers, making competition tougher,” Dacul told the BusinessMirror.

“While consumers may gain from lower prices, the government must balance affordability with support for domestic rice production to sustain long-term food security,” she added.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently noted that exporter quotes further tumbled in February.

For one, the international agency said Vietnamese prices dropped by $7 to $387 per metric ton (MT) and Thai quotes shrank by $19 to $418 per MT with reduced sales to Southeast Asian markets.

“Pakistani quotes decreased $20 to $380 per MT and India is down $10 to $400 per MT with large supplies,” the USDA said in its latest report.

It added that United States prices declined by $19 to $678 per MT on weaker sales to Latin America, while Uruguayan quotes fell $56 to $612 per MT following the harvest of its new crop.

Data from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) showed that the volume of rice shipments that entered the country as of March 13 stood at 640,915 MT.

‘P45 MSRP’

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (DA) recently floated that the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice would likely hit P45 per kilo before end-March, a drop of P4 from its current P49-per kilo pricing.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa attributed the possible further cut to MSRP on the easing of export rice prices in the world market and strengthened Philippine peso.

“Looking at the current trend of prices, the exchange rate, and the prices in the international market, most likely the P45 pesos MSRP for imported premium rice will push through towards the end of the month,” De Mesa said in Filipino, in a previous interview.

Source : businessmirror